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Winners of the 2007 Canadian Transportation Awards

OTTAWA, Oct. 19 /CNW Telbec/ - The Honourable Lawrence Cannon,
Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, along with
Mr. Russell Neudorf, president of the Transportation Association of Canada,
today announced the winners of the 2007 Canadian Transportation Awards. The
awards recognize leadership, excellence and achievement in all modes and
segments of the transportation sector. There are four awards: Transportation
Person of the Year, Award of Excellence, Award of Achievement and Award of
Academic Merit.
"It is my pleasure to honour this year's award recipients who have each
made remarkable contributions to the transportation sector," said
Minister Cannon. "Through their leadership and forward-thinking, they have
earned the admiration and respect of countless transportation professionals
and continue to leave their mark on our country's dynamic transportation
system."
"The Transportation Association of Canada is pleased to formally
recognize the 2007 award recipients," said Mr. Neudorf. "The time and energy
they have invested searching for new ideas and approaches to transportation
challenges deserve to be celebrated, and I'm grateful that the awards program
provides our community with an opportunity to thank them for their efforts."
The Transportation Person of the Year is awarded to an individual who has
assumed leadership roles that have contributed to the improvement or
advancement of the transportation industry.
Ms. Geni Brafman Bahar, currently vice-president of iTRANS
Consulting Inc. of Richmond Hill, Ontario, received this award for her
dedication to improving the safety of North American roads. By combining
expertise in engineering with strong leadership skills, Ms. Bahar has worked
tirelessly to promote traffic and road safety engineering. Over the course of
her 27-year career, she has coordinated multidisciplinary teams in a wide
variety of safety projects. As an advocate of the hands-on approach, Ms. Bahar
led the Ontario Provincial Government in the successful development and
implementation of a road safety management system. Today, the resulting
"Science of Highway Safety" is taught to transportation professionals across
North America. An expert in the field and a respected road safety advocate,
Ms. Bahar has played a key role in developing reference material, training
practitioners and advising professional committees.
The Award of Excellence is given to an individual who has made an
outstanding contribution to the improvement of the transportation industry
over several years in areas such as safety, sustainable development, research,
technology, policy or corporate development.
Mr. Roger Roy of Ottawa, Ontario, former director general of economic
analysis at Transport Canada, was honoured for advancing transportation
research through his unparalleled commitment to the public service. Mr. Roy
spent the past 35 years putting his exceptional skills to work for the
Government of Canada as an expert in economics and transportation. Throughout
his career, he has been at the forefront of economic analysis and
transportation research, making him a widely recognized and respected expert
in the field. At Transport Canada, his work informed departmental and
government decision-making. Mr. Roy's rigorous analytical approach to
transportation issues and problems led to his involvement in ambitious
research programs and pioneering work in electronic data collection methods.
In addition to his numerous domestic responsibilities, he represented Canada
on a number of international committees and working groups.
The Award of Achievement is offered to two individuals who have achieved
positive and measurable improvements of significant and enduring benefit to
transportation through innovation and initiative on a particular project or
program.
Mr. John Lisman, a consulting engineer in the area of highway safety
engineering and litigation support from Victoria, British Columbia, received
this award for his years of work spent improving road safety through
innovative designs and methods. Mr. Lisman is credited for introducing
neighbourhood traffic calming measures in the Downtown West End of Vancouver
during the 1970s. While working for the B.C. Ministry of Transportation, he
developed and introduced the "Lisman barrier flares" and the concept of the
forgiving roadside for the design of provincial highways. Since leaving the
B.C. Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Lisman has worked on numerous road safety
audits and has served as an expert witness in safety. Today, he continues his
practice around the world for the World Bank, preparing safety manuals and
programs to be used by local transportation agencies.
Mr. Joe Sparling of Whitehorse, Yukon, president and chief executive
officer of Air North, was honoured with the Award of Achievement for improving
air service in northern Canada by providing Yukoners with a reliable and
competitive airline. Thanks to Mr. Sparling's hands-on management style,
strategic thinking, and perseverance, Air North grew from its humble
beginnings with one aircraft serving the mining industry to a successful
northern company that links the Yukon to the Northwest Territories, Alaska,
British Columbia and Alberta. This year, Mr. Sparling celebrates the
30th anniversary of Air North with his employees and the citizens of the
Yukon, many of whom are supporters, shareholders and passengers of the
airline.
The Award of Academic Merit is new this year, and is given to an
individual who has made a long-term contribution to the advancement of the
academic field and to the development of tomorrow's transportation leaders.
Dr. Ralph Haas, distinguished professor emeritus and the Norman W. McLeod
Engineering Professor at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, received this
award in recognition of his career as an educator and mentor to many of
today's leaders in the field of transportation. In a career that spans
45 years, he has taught thousands of undergraduate students, supervised over
50 completed postgraduate degrees and has seen many former students achieve
leadership positions. In addition to the many research projects he has
conducted and lectures he has delivered worldwide, Dr. Hass has published
10 books and 400 technical papers on transportation and infrastructure. He was
also instrumental in securing a record research grant in the transportation
area that enabled the creation of the University of Waterloo's Centre for
Pavement and Transportation Technology. Dr. Haas was recognized with the
nation's highest civilian honour, the Order of Canada. He received the highest
academic honour, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and the highest
engineering honour, Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. His many
other activities include being an Honorary Life Member of the Transportation
Association of Canada, having chaired its scholarship committee for 20 years.
The awards were presented at the closing banquet of the Transportation
Association of Canada's annual conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which
was held from October 14 to 17.

For further information:

For further information: Gilbert Morier, Manager, Member Services and
Public Affairs, Transportation Association of Canada, (613) 736-1350 ext. 234;
Media Relations, Transport Canada, Ottawa, (613) 993-0055; Transport Canada is
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